Apple is hitting the brakes on an anticipated AI update to its digital assistant Siri, the tech giant said on Friday. Apple confirmed that Siri’s revamped version with Apple Intelligence is now expected to come out later than expected “in the coming year.”
In a statement to Daring Fireball’s John Gruber, an Apple spokesperson said that while several improvements have been made to Siri—like integrating the assistant with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and making it more conversational and accessible—other features will take more time to roll out.
“We’ve also been working on a more personalized Siri, giving it more awareness of your personal context, as well as the ability to take action for you within and across your apps,” the spokesperson said. “It’s going to take us longer than we thought to deliver on these features and we anticipate rolling them out in the coming year.”
Apple has not officially stated the reason behind the pause. Reuters reported that the update is now expected in 2026, however Gruber estimated that Apple will release the fully revamped Siri with the launch of iOS 19 and macOS 16—those are expected sometime this fall. The Apple Intelligence features have not been included in recent Apple developer beta updates.
Apple did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.
While Apple promises a new wave of AI-powered experiences across iOS, macOS, and iPad, the company now faces the challenge of keeping pace in an ongoing AI arms race. Some disgruntled users took to social media to voice their frustration over the delay.
Apple has already rolled out several AI features for users, including customizable emojis, a generative AI image generator in Messages, and AI-powered search for Apple TV and Apple Music.
The delay in Siri’s upgrade raises questions about Apple’s AI strategy after shifting heavily towards artificial intelligence in 2024. These AI-focused plans include a planned investment of $500 billion in AI research announced in February, and a partnership with semiconductor developer Broadcom to launch its first AI server chip in 2026.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
Generally Intelligent Newsletter
A weekly AI journey narrated by Gen, a generative AI model.
